ScrewUp
by Flame Soldier
Summary: Finn, determined that he's a screw-up, and coward decides to leave the Storm Hawks for their own good. Where will he go? Will he be able to redeem himself? Complete!
1. Scared

Scared

Scared

A/N I don't own Storm Hawks.

"Aerrow, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Aerrow was talking to Piper. He glanced at Finn for a second. "In a minute."

Finn waited a minute. Two passed. Then five, then ten. Aerrow and Piper turned and walked down the Condor's corridor, forgetting all about Finn.

Finn turned his blue-gaze to Stork, who was rummaging around in his tool box. "Stork, can I talk to you?"

"Not right now Fin, I'm kind of in the middle of something." The Merb examined a wrench then sighed and tossed it out of the box.

The blond stared at the lonely wrench as it landed at his feet. Sighing he picked the wrench up and stared down the corridor.

Finn was scared. He felt afraid and lonely. It was always him that got shot down. Luckily, he always managed to land on someone else's skimmer, but how long would it take for that luck to run out? When was he going to fall for good? When is a laser bolt going to hit _him_ instead of his skimmer?

He knew his friends didn't have answers to those questions. He just wanted someone to _know_ how he felt. He just wanted someone to _care._

"But I guess I'm just not the kind of person that people care about." Angrily, he threw the wrench at the wall with a clang.

Junko left his room after hearing the loud noise. He found Finn, blue eyes fixed on the ground. "Finn? You look upset. Do you need something?"

Finn looked up at Junko. He hesitated for a second. "No," he replied. "Its nothing you'd care about... No one cares," he muttered darkly.

He turned away from his friend, just in time to miss the flash on concern in Junko's eyes.

Finn marched away, not knowing that someone really did care.


	2. Screwup

**Screw-Up**

**A/N People have told me to continue to make my one-shot into a story... I think I will...**

Finn sat in his room on his bed. Hugging his knees to his chest, he sighed. Why did he feel this way? None of his friends were scared. ever. They always rushed into a battle, smiling, joking around. They never gave it a second thought that they could be shot down. That they could _die_.

"Am I a coward?" Finn questioned aloud. "Is that it? Is that why I feel so afraid when I fly into a fight?" He reasoned that it was perfectly natural to be afraid when his skimmer got cut in half or when he was falling through the sky. But now... Now he felt afraid all the time. Just the thought of Cyclonians made his stomach feel sick. No one else felt this way... Not even Stork. Stork was afraid of diseases, mind worms, and things Finn was pretty sure the Merb made up, but not Cyclonians.

None of the others would understand. None of the others would care. Of this, Finn was certain. He knew what the others thought about him. They thought he was a screw-up. Sighing, Finn decided he couldn't really blame him. He did seem to mess everything up. Getting trapped in Cyclonis's machine, bringing the leech crystals onto the Condor, and getting shot down nearly every battle. He was beginning to cost them a lot in skimmer repairs. He had overheard Piper complaining about it once.

"Do I really help with anything at all?" he asked himself. "Am I really just a nuisance?" He remembered the day Aerrow had placed him in charge of the Condor. He had gone power crazy, and drove his friends away. "They must all hate me," he mumbled. "The only good thing I've ever done is being the Great Gomo..." Sighing, he corrected himself. "Domo..." He scowled as he remembered the first time he visited Terra Vapos. He hadn't really saved the day. He'd be dead right now if it wasn't for Aerrow.

"I am just a nuisance. A nuisance and a screw-up... The Storm Hawks would be better off without me!" Finn stood up, his eyes narrowed. "I'm sick of being a screw-up... I'm sick of being afraid. That's what they think of me! They think I'm a screw-up and a coward! They don't need me!"

* * *

"Finn?" Junko questioned, rapping softly on his friend's door. "You seemed kind of upset back there... So I scrounged up a basket of your favorite muffins..." He paused a minute and frowned as he received no answer. "You know, the ones with the little blueberries and the sugar on the outside." Still no answer. "Finn?" He opened his friend's door to see an empty room. Finn was nowhere in sight.

"What's this?" Junko picked up a piece of paper that was on Finn's bed and gasped as he read it.

_Fellow Storm Hawks,_

_I know that you think I'm nothing but a screw-up. I'm leaving.  
I'm going to prove that I'm not... If that's possible.  
I resign as a Storm Hawk, if that's what I'm supposed to do.  
Since we're not an official squadron it probably doesn't matter.  
You'll be better off without me, anyways. _

_Goodbye, Finn._


	3. Flight

**Chapter 3: Flight**

**A/N Thanks for all the reviews guys! - Writing that last chapter made me realize how down the show is on Finn. Ah, poor guy...**

It had been easy enough to sneak down to the skimmer bay. Stork was preoccupied in the bridge, Aerrow and Piper were talking about something in Piper's room, and Finn could hear Junko rummaging around the kitchen. Getting off the Condor without being noticed, that was the problem. He was pretty sure that Stork would probably notice a skimmer flying from the Condor considering the bay was located on the front of the airship.

"But would they really care?"Finn pondered. He set down the bundle he was carrying and looked it over, to see if he had everything he needed. He had a money pouch with his life savings, although since he squandered his money so often, it wasn't that much. He had packed away his armor, which he decided to put on now in case Cyclonians decided to ambush him (with his luck, he didn't doubt that it would happen). He had brought his crossbow, and every bolt he could find in his cluttered room. Frost bolts, fire bolts, energy bolts, and even a few bolts that hadn't been fused with a crystal yet. He had also brought his guitar (just in case he wanted to rock).

"Alright," he said, after finishing putting his armor on. "Guess I'll get going..." He loaded his bundle onto his skimmer and opened the bay. Getting onto his skimmer, it occurred to him that he had no way to close the bay after he left. He shrugged; someone else would do it eventually. He took one more look around before starting forward.

Finn drove out of the hangar and off the runway. He waited a few more seconds than usual before activating the wings. This kept him lower and hopefully out of view of the Condor. He wasn't exactly sure why he wanted stealth. It's not like anyone could stop him from leaving, but maybe... Maybe it was because he didn't think he could face his friends, "It's better this way," he decided.

Finn kept glancing over his shoulder until the Condor disappeared from sight. He blinked as he realized that he had no idea where he was, or where the nearest terra was. "Smooth... Guess I should've taken a map..."

* * *

"He left?" Piper repeated.

"Let me see that letter again!" Aerrow demanded. He took it from Junko's hands and read it over for the third time. He tossed it back to Junko as he realized the letter hadn't changed from the first two times he had read it. "Why would he think that we think he's a screw-up?"

"Well, there was that one time he used the solaris crystal to barbecue meat, leaving us trapped in the Black Gorge..." Stork pointed out his eyes darting around. "We were kind of hard on him after we got out..."

"It's my fault!" Piper exclaimed. "I was really mean to him after he made all those clones of himself..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Now he's gone!"

"No, it's my fault," Junko asserted. "When he lost my knuckle busters, I was upset at him..."

"He wanted to talk to me earlier today," Aerrow said. "But... I pretty much ignored him." He gazed sadly at his downcast squadron. "But we can't just sit here and feel sorry for ourselves! We have to go look for him!"

"How?" Stork asked. "We have no idea which direction he went off in, or what terra he would go to..." He hesitated. "And what if he doesn't want to come back? He left for a reason..."

"We have to try!" Junko argued. "We need to talk to him... I can't just leave my best buddy to wander alone out there!"

"We can split up," Piper suggested. "There's four of us so we can cover the basic directions... We'll meet back here."

"How long do we search for?" Aerrow asked.

"Well, our crystal power on your skimmers and my heliscooter will last for a little over eight hours... So we'll search for four and then head back..." she replied.

"What do we do if we find him?" Stork asked. "We can't force him to go back..."

"Talk to him," Aerrow replied. "Convince him that we don't think he's a screw-up."

"Umm, Aerrow? I'm not really the best motivational speaker..." The Merb shook his head. "I could end up making things... worse..."

"There's no way you could make this worse," Junko replied. "Finn's already out there all alone... What if Cyclonian's ambush him? They always attack at the worst times..."

"Don't worry, Junko," Aerrow said. "Finn can take care of himself. _I hope_," he added under his breath. "And Stork, I'm sure if you run into Finn, you'll be fine... And if not just call us with the communicator, and..." he slapped his forehead.

"Or we could just call Finn with the communicator," Stork said. "It's not like he'll answer, but... It's worth a try."

**A/N On a random note, I actually forgot about their communicators until I rewatched the first episode today. ; Guess they have to keep in touch with the Condor somehow...**


	4. Fight

**Chapter 4 Fight**

**A/N Thanks again for the reviews. -**

"You know... I would've thought that running away would be more... Exciting," Finn commented. He stared around at the blue sky. That's all he's been staring at for what had felt like hours, but in reality was only twenty minutes. "Isn't there a terra around here somewhere? Like Terra Tropica? That would be nice... The beach, the girls in bikinis..." He sighed. "I should've brought my surfboard..."

Finn squinted into the distance. "I think that's land! Finally. I've been out here for like... forever... I wonder what terra that is..." He picked up speed and zoomed in towards the terra. As he drew closer, he felt like the terra was familiar somehow. "I think I've been here before... But where is here?" He tipped his head to the side, hearing something. "And where's that music coming from?"

His eyes widened as a Cyclonian airship came through the clouds. "Out of all the terras to come to it had to be one that was being attacked by Cyclonians! I'm getting out of here!" He turned his skimmer around, but hesitated. "I'm being a coward again! But... Being a live coward is probably better than being a dead one!" The music grew louder, and Finn finally recognized it. "Ravess..."

He glanced back to see the Cyclonians heading straight towards them. Ravess was already aiming at him. Pulling to the side, he just managed to dodge the arrow. "Looks like I'm going to have to fight... Great..." His heart rate incresed as he turned to face the oncoming skimmers. Leaning down, he looked into the scope of his built-in crossbow. He managed to shoot down one of the Cyclonians. The one with the violin. He was still playing Ravess's theme music as he floated down towards the terra.

"What's this? One little Storm Hawk, all alone?" Ravess sneered at him. "Where are your friends, little boy? If you tell me, I might just show some mercy."

"I don't know," Finn replied. "And if I did know, I still wouldn't tell you!" Or at least, he hoped he wouldn't. He remembered that his clones had told Snipe where to find them when they were threatened, but then again, Snipe was scarier than Ravess. Shaking his head, he looked into his scope again, aiming at Ravess, who in turn was aiming at him. They both shot at the same time. The arrow and the bolt hit each other in the sky, but Ravess's arrow had more power behind it and cleaved right through the bolt.

Finn dove down to dodge causing the arrow to glance off his shoulder armor. He gulped. "That was too close..." Ravess was shooting more arrows at him, and the Cyclonians had opened fire. It was four against one- he didn't stand a chance against dodging everything. His skimmer was knocked out from under him. It went hurtling down towards the terra while Finn's parachute activated. "At least there's a terra below me... I'm safe now..." He trailed off as he saw Ravess aim towards him.

"Master Cyclonis will be glad that I've dispatched one of those pesky Storm Hawks!" Ravess laughed.

She let loose two arrows, severing Finn's parachute chords. He screamed as he fell towards the terra. Ravess smiled no one could survive a fall that far. No one.

* * *

"Finn, this is Aerrow! Come in Finn!" Aerrow sighed. "Come on Finn... I know you're mad at us, but... We care about you. Please, come home..."

"Finn, this is Junko... Come home... I'm worried about you... I have some of your favorite muffins! The ones with the blueberries..." Junko stared at the floor. "Why doesn't he answer?"

"Probably because he doesn't want to," Piper replied.

"If you want, I can track down his location through the communicator," Stork offered. "It won't take too long..."

The Wallop nodded vigorously. "Please Stork! I have to know what happened to him!"

The Merb nodded. "Alright... This should only take a few minutes." He bent over the communication device for a few minutes and adjusted the settings. After muttering a few words to himself he glanced back at his friends a bit nervously.

"What's wrong?" Junko asked.

"Well... The tracker isn't picking up anything," Stork replied. "Which means... Finn disabled the communications device... But I don't think Finn knows how to do that... So the only other option is..."

"Is what?" Aerrow asked. A look of worry crossed his face.

The Merb looked away from his friends. "The only other thing that could have stopped the signal of his skimmer is... Is if the skimmer was destroyed. Our friend Finn might've... He might have met his doom..."

"No!" Junko cried. "Even if his skimmer was destroyed... Well, it's been destroyed dozens of times... Finn's always managed to survive. He's never been hurt... None of us have ever been hurt!"

Stork opened his mouth to point out that Finn had always landed on someone else's skimmer and that if he had managed to activate his parachute, he would probably be stranded in the wastelands which would surely kill him, but seeing the looks of pain on everyone's faces, the Merb thought better of it. "Um... Maybe we should start searching the wastelands for him then... He probably would've landed there..." His eyes darted around as he tried to avoid looking at his friends' depressed looking faces. "Um... And... maybe Finn's smarter than I thought... Maybe he could have found a way to disable it..."

Junko wiped a tear from his eye. "Yeah... That must be it... I'm going to go look for him! Come on! Let's go! Finn has to be alive! He has to!"


	5. Honor

**Chapter 5 Honor  
**

**A/N I was planning on writing this chapter tomorrow, but I'll release it today. Plus I'll be gone for the weekend, meaning no updates until Monday...  
**

Finn squeezed his eyes shut. He was going to die. He knew it. Why did this have to happen? Why was he always shot down? After a few moments, he realized that it didn't even feel like he was falling any more. He must have gotten used to the sensation. But what was that pressure on his arm?

"What's going on? Why aren't I a pancake?" Finn risked opening his eyes. He found him staring up at a vaguely familiar face. He couldn't quite place the name...

"I've got you!" the man exclaimed, pulling Finn up onto his ancient skimmer. "Are you injured?"

Finn shook his head and forced himself to stop shaking. "I'm- I'm fine."

The blond haired man nodded. "Good... Now, I hope you don't mind, but we have some fighting to do. Hold on tight!" He raised a yellow energy blade into the air. "Rex Guardians! Fight with honor!"

Harrier! That's who had just saved him. That means that terra down there was Terra Rex. Finn nodded to himself. So now he knew where he was. The real problem was whether the Rex Guardians could take care of those Cyclonians. He briefly recalled how badly they were beaten by the Dark Ace. "No time to be thinking about that," he murmured.

"I thought you finally figured out that honor means nothing to the Cyclonians?" Finn said, gripping onto his seat as Harrier pulled to the right to dodge a blast. "You still follow that Code?"

"The Code has always been our way of life," Harrier replied. "We won't get rid of it completely. The Cyclonians may not have honor, but we still can." He dove down to dodge Ravess's arrow. "Of course that doesn't mean we can't learn new tricks." He stood up. "Take control of the skimmer."

Finn blinked. "What are you-" He watched as Harrier jumped from his skimmer onto Ravess's. "-doing... Hey! You stole Aerrow's move!" He realized that he was supposed to be driving the skimmer and keeping it close so Harrier could jump back on. He kept near Ravess's skimmer and watched what Harrier was doing.

Ravess's eyes widened with surprise as she turned to face Harrier. "I thought it was against your pathetic Code to leave your skimmer!"

Harrier smiled. "The Code has been altered. As the Dark Ace himself said, Times have changed!" He raised his blade. "Now I'm honor bound to give you this chance to surrender."

She sighed. "I guess I have no choice... I surrender..."

Harrier lowered his blade. Ravess smiled and whipped up her bow to smack him in the face. He stood dazed for a moment, but brought up his energy blade to block the blow from hitting his face again. His blue eyes narrowed in anger. "You Cyclonians disgust me! You may think honor is a waste of time, but it is those with honor who always prevail!" He slammed his energy blade into the bow, cleaving it in half.

Ravess's yellow eyes shimmered in anger as she looked down at her broken bow. "You'll pay for this Sky Knight!"

"Not likely." Harrier jumped back to his own skimmer, nearly landing on Finn. "Look around you, Cyclonian. My squadron took down the rest of your Talons. You've lost! Now get out of here! Leave in shame!"

Ravess looked around to see that Harrier was right. Below her, her Talons were floating to the ground with their parachutes. "You haven't seen the last of me, pony-tail boy!" She turned and flew back towards the Cyclonian airship.

"Thanks for the save," Finn said to the Rex Guardian. "I owe you one."

Harrier shrugged. "It was my duty as a Sky Knight to help someone in need." He glanced back at Finn. "Thanks for piloting my skimmer... Ever since I dueled with Aerrow I've always wanted to try that." He grinned a bit sheepishly.

"You're bleeding," Finn commented,a bit concerned at the blood that was pouring from his nose.

"Yes... That blasted woman hit me when she said she was surrendering. Its nothing more than a nose bleed though," He shrugged again.  
"I guess I should've known better than to have trusted the words of a Cyclonian." He flew towards the rest of his squadron. "Good job, Rex Guardians. We have won the battle with honor. I don't expect those Cyclonians will be in any hurry to face us again. Come, let's return to the terra."

The squadron flew towards their landing strip where a crowd of cheering fans had gathered.

"Wow," Finn commented. "Are these guys _always_ here?"

"Of course," Harrier replied. "They always gather to watch us do battle."

"Oh..." He watched the crowd as they landed. The Rex Guardians waved to them and the cheering grew louder. Mechanics rushed out to take the squadron's skimmers. They had to be properly maintained after all.

Finn slid off of Harrier's skimmer as the mechanic approached. Harrier got off as well and turned towards Finn. "Now tell me, where are the rest of the Storm Hawks?"

He sighed. "I don't know... I'm... I'm no longer a Storm Hawk."

"Why not?" the Rex Guardian asked.

"Oh, you know... It just wasn't my style."

Harrier gazed at him. "It's against the Code to lie."

Finn sighed. "Look, I don't want to talk about it right now... Can we go find my skimmer? Or what's left of it, anyways..."

"It's taken care of," the mechanic who was examining Harrier's skimmer replied. "It's quite a wreck... It'll take awhile to fix."

"What about my stuff?" Finn asked.

"You mean that guitar and crossbow? It's with your skimmer. Amazingly the guitar isn't broken..."

* * *

"FINN!" Junko bellowed, dodging a blast of lava. "Where are you?"

"No sign of his skimmer anywhere." Aerrow's voice came through the communication device.

"It could have been destroyed by the lava," Stork pointed out.

"Don't say that!" Junko replied. "Finn's okay... He has to be okay! Or... Or..." Tears blurred the Wallop's vision, but he shook his head, clearing it. Now wasn't the time to be upset. His best buddy was out there somewhere, and he was going to find him!"


	6. Hope

**Chapter 6 Hope  
**

Finn was watching the mechanics work on his skimmer. It barely looked like a skimmer anymore. He had grabbed his guitar and crossbow. His money pouch was gone however. He didn't know if one of the mechanics had stolen it, or if it had just been lost in the crash.

"Great," he muttered. "Now I'm stuck here on Terra Rex with no money, and no skimmer." He strummed a few chords on his guitar absentmindedly. "What can I do?"

"There's a scratch right there," Harrier's voice carried from the other side of the skimmer bay. For the last half hour he had been examining his skimmer and pointing out any and all scratches or dents. 'It is written in the Code that all equipment must be kept well maintained,' he had explained to Finn.

Finn rolled his eyes as Harrier pointed out yet another nearly invisible scratch. "Talk about OCD..." His eyes scanned the large room and he noticed the other Rex Guardians doing the same.

"Well," Harrier said. "I think you've taken care of everything... Thank you." He nodded to the mechanics and headed towards Finn. "And how's your skimmer?"

Finn just watched as one of the wings which had been hanging by a thread tumbled to the ground. He shrugged and continued watching the other Rex Guardians for a moment. "Hey, I have a question..."

"What is it?" Harrier asked.

"Is it like... written in the Code that your entire squadron has to be blond?"

Harrier blinked and glanced around at his squadron and their blond hair.

"If they're not blond, do they have to dye their hair? I admit, your hair does match your armor..."

"It's not written in the Code," Harrier replied. "Why would something like hair color be in the code?"

Finn shrugged. "There seems to be a rule about everything, so I just kind of figured..."

The Rex Guardian rolled his eyes. "You know, it's against the Code to mock the Code."

Finn attempted to keep a straight face. "Oh? I didn't know that. I'll keep that in mind."

Harrier sighed and decided to change the subject. "Why don't I show you around the terra?"

"Alright," Finn replied, setting his guitar down. He followed Harrier out of the bay and out into the nearby town. People stared at them where ever they went.

"It's Harrier!" A group of girls exclaimed. They ran up to him and waved pieces of paper at him for him to autograph. Harrier happily obliged.

Finn ran a hand through his hair and pointed both fingers at the group of girls like pistols. He winked at them. "Chica-cha."

The girls giggled at him. Then one of them suddenly looked excited. "Wait! It's Aerrow, from the Storm Hawks!" The girls erupted in a million questions.

"Have you really been to Cyclonia?"

"I heard that you killed the Dark Ace! Is it true?"

"Are you really only fourteen?"

Finn raised both his hands. "No, no! I'm not Aerrow! I'm the best sharpshooter in all of Atmos! Finn!"

The girls fell quiet. "Finn? Who's that?"

Finn sighed and walked away, dejected.

Harrier followed after him, looking amused. "I guess you're not as famous as you thought..."

"How could they not know me?" he asked. "I'm like the most important member of the Storm Hawks!"

"_Was_ a member of the Storm Hawks," The Rex Guardian corrected. He paused to sign a Harrier action figure that a child handed him.

Finn was starting to notice just how popular the Rex Guardians were. There was Rex Guardian merchandise everywhere. Stores filled with books, posters, action figures, even stuffed versions of the squadron. "Wow, no wonder they're stuck-up jerks..."

"What was that?" Harrier asked, handing the action figure back to the child.

"Nothing, nothing," Finn replied. "Did you bring me down here just to show off how famous you are?"

"I wouldn't waste my time on something like that," he replied. "I just thought you'd like to be shown around, since you'll have to stay here for awhile. I know of some nice inns you could stay at."

He winced. "Er... I don't have any money..."

The Rex Guardian halted mid-stride. "Oh, I see. Well... I suppose you could stay with me..."

"Thanks dude," Finn replied. "I appreciate it..."

Harrier sighed. "Yes well... It's going to get dark soon. I suppose we'll be dining together. Just please... Try to have more class than the last time..."

"What was wrong last time?" he demanded, sounding offended.

"How about you try using a spoon?"

* * *

Aerrow shook his head, trying to clear it. They had been searching the wastelands all day for any sign of Finn. It was getting dark and they were going to run out of fuel soon. "Guys... We need to head back to the Condor..."

"No," Junko replied. "Not until we find Finn."

"I'm sorry, Junko but... We need to head back. Its going to be dark soon... I'm sure Finn has found shelter by now... We'll search for him starting at first light, I promise..."

"But..." the Wallop sighed. "Fine..."

"Guys..." Piper's voice sounded stressed. "I... I've found something."

"Is it Finn's skimmer?" Junko demanded.

"No... I... I'll bring it to the Condor..."

The Storm Hawks waited impatiently for Piper to return; her heliscooter was slower than their skimmers. Stork tapped his fingers nervously on the round table while Junko clenched and unclenched his fists. Aerrow paced in front of the table.

"Guys..." Piper walked into the room. She had something cloth clutched to her chest.

"What is it Piper?" Aerrow asked. "What's wrong?"

Without saying a word, Piper threw the cloth onto the table. It was Finn's parachute. The strings that were supposed to be connected to Finn were singed.

Piper burst into tears. "He's gone! Aerrow... Finn's dead!" She sobbed into Aerrow's shoulder. The Sky Knight was crying as well. He embraced her when she started shaking even though he was shaking as well.

"No!" Junko bellowed. "He can't be gone! No!" The Wallop wrapped his arms around Aerrow and Piper as he wept, as if that could comfort him. Radarr hugged Junko's leg, trying to comfort him.

Stork turned away from them, uncomfortable with their crying although a stray tear or two made its way down his face. He stared at the floor memories of the blond sharpshooter running through his mind. He had never gotten hurt before. He had survived getting eaten multiple times, his skimmer falling apart and even sneaking onto a Murk Raider ship. How could he go and die now?

"No," the Merb decided, his voice firm. "He can't be... It just wouldn't be like Finn to have gone and died like that."

The red-rimmed eyes of his friends turned toward him.

"It isn't like most people to go and die," Piper said. "But they do... Oh, Finn... I never got to say goodbye..."

"That's not what I mean," Stork replied. "Think about it guys..." His mind was working furiously. The facts started to add up in his head. "We haven't found his skimmer. Even if it was destroyed by lava there's something else wrong."

Junko stared at him hopefully. "What else is wrong?"

"Finn wouldn't give up without a fight," he replied. "There would be signs of a battle. He would have taken at least one of the Cyclonians down with him. There would have been a Cyclonian skimmer nearby, some of Finn's crossbow bolts, something like that..."

Piper was shaking her head. "That parachute has to mean that he was shot off his skimmer... And his communicator not working...Stork... I know you're trying to be optimistic, but... "

"Me? Optimistic?" The Merb laughed. "I would have thought you would know me better than that Piper."

**A/N Whooo... Wasn't gone as long as I thought. On another random note, I keep watching the preview for the new Storm Hawks episode, and I want to see it. But for some reason Cartoon Network doesn't want to say when it'll be on. I have come up with a plan... I went to the Cartoon Network Website and sent a comment requesting for them to put on Storm Hawks. I figure if other people do it as well, they might listen, so if you could give it a try, that would be great. Now on to the Fanfic!**


	7. Confession

**Chapter 7 Confession  
**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews. **

Finn stared down at the multitude of spoons. Why in the world would you ever need that many spoons? The soup smelled really good and he wanted to eat it, but Harrier insisted that he use spoon! He glanced across the table at Harrier his gaze just asking for a hint.

Harrier sighed and rolled his eyes. "You go from the outside in, how hard is that to figure out?"

"Well how am I supposed to know that?" Finn replied, picking up the spoon. He blushed as he noticed the other Rex Guardians shooting amused looks at each other. In the most refined manner he considered possible, he put the spoonful of soup in his mouth. It was burning hot! Sputtering, he spit the soup out back into the bowl. "Ah! It burns!"

Harrier hid his eyes with his hand. "Oh for pity's sake!"

"Um... Sorry..." He grinned sheepishly. He gulped down his glass of water to help soothe his burned tongue.

The Rex Guardians all shook their heads in unison and continued their meal, trying to ignore Finn's atrocious table manners. In between courses, a squire came around carrying an amphora of wine. He poured a glass for each of the Rex Guardians, but hesitated as he reached Finn. He looked toward Harrier, who shook his head and the squire moved on.

"Hey! Why can't I have any wine?" Finn complained.

"You're too young," Harrier replied. "What are you, thirteen, fourteen?"

"Fifteen."

"The Code states that alcohol is only suitable for those aged twenty or older. Perhaps you'd like some grape juice instead."

Finn crossed his arms and snorted. "Stupid Code..." The squire returned and filled his glass with grape juice. "I'm not a little kid..."

"You're not an adult either," Harrier pointed out. "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. That's what I don't get about the Storm Hawks. You guys are in such a hurry to get involved in the war. Why? It's not a game, believe me."

Finn just shrugged, not really having a good answer. Sometimes it had all been just a game to him. It was all fun, no one really got hurt. But then he started getting shot down, almost killed and suddenly, it wasn't so fun any more. Involuntarily, memories of getting shot down played through his mind. He could still feel the fear he felt when Ravess severed his parachute. Harrier was right; it wasn't a game.

Harrier tipped his head to the side as he saw a flash of fear in Finn's eyes. "Finn? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he lied.

Harrier didn't miss the way Finn's knife and fork quivered in his hands, but he said nothing.

The rest of the meal passed without incident (except Finn nearly choking on a piece of steak) and Harrier showed Finn to his room.

"Nice digs," Finn said, looking around at the finely furnished room. The walls were maroon and gold curtains hung around a glass door leading to a balcony. There was a king-sized bed with maroon sheets and gold pillows which Finn promptly plopped himself on.

"Take off your shoes! You're going to get dirt on my bed!" Harrier's eyes narrowed. "And you'll be sleeping over there." He motioned towards a maroon couch in the corner.

"You're no fun," Finn complained, taking off his shoes and getting up off the bed.

"Yes well, not everyone can just goof off all the time like you," he replied. He sat down on the edge of his bed and took his shoes off. He looked over at Finn, wondering if he should bring up what he was about to bring up. "Tell me, Finn... What's wrong?"

"Whaddaya mean?" Finn replied.

"Well, you've left the Storm Hawks and at dinner you nearly looked like you were going to have a heart attack. Something's obviously going on."

"Like you'd care."

"I do care. Why do you think I asked?" Harrier tipped his head to the side slightly. "You weren't kicked out of the squadron, were you?"

"No," Finn muttered. "I quit... They'd be better off without me."

"I thought you said you were the best sharpshooter in the Atmos," he countered.

"Well, I am, but... I... I'm..." The sharpshooter couldn't meet the Sky Knight's gaze.

"You know... There's nothing in the Code that says its wrong to be scared."

Finn glanced at Harrier sharply. "How did you know?"

Harrier shrugged. "I guessed. Did you really leave the Storm Hawks just because you were afraid? Because... everyone gets scared before going into battle."

"It's not just before battle... It's all the time. No matter where I am, what I'm doing... I... I think about whether the next battle will be my last... When I won't land safely on my friends' skimmers or get caught by someone. One day, my luck will run out. I'm a disgrace to the Storm Hawks..."

The Sky Knight steepled his fingers and regarded him thoughtfully. "You're not a disgrace. It's perfectly normal to feel that way. I've known many who've felt the same. And since you're so young... You just have to accept it. Accept that some things are worth dying for."

Finn glanced at him. "That's only part of the reason I left, you know."

"Oh? Why else did you leave?"

"Because in just about every mission, I've screwed something up... People end up getting hurt because of me! It was only a matter of time before they kicked me off the team anyways. I heard Piper saying how much me crashing my skimmer caused them in repair materials... And they get annoyed with me easily."

"If they're really your friends, they won't care about your mistakes. They'll be worried that you left."

"So you're saying that they're not my friends?" Finn asked.

"No you twit!" Harrier exclaimed. "I'm saying that the Storm Hawks don't care about the mistakes you've made and don't think you're a screw-up."

"How do you know? You've only met them like once! They could hate my guts for all you know!"

He sighed. "And how's leaving going to solve anything? Do you even know how they feel? Have you tried talking to them?"

"Yeah," Finn replied. "I have... They ignored me... And I'm going to prove that I'm more than just a coward and a screw-up. Maybe I don't need to prove it to them, but... I need to prove it to myself."

Harrier regarded him thoughtfully. "Then I wish you good luck, Finn."

* * *

Junko couldn't sleep. Everyone else had been able to, but he hadn't. He was too worried about Finn.

Getting out of bed, he headed over to the map Piper had laid out onto the table. She had marked down where they had already looked for Finn. The wastelands in the area had thoroughly been searched; that's where he would be if the parachute was any indication. But... What if he hadn't landed in the wastelands? What if he had found a terra? Searching the map, Junko found two nearby terras. The area where the Phoenix Crystal was located, and Terra Rex.

Junko nodded. Finn had to be somewhere on one of the two terras. He headed towards the skimmer bay. He couldn't wait for morning; his friend could be injured and afraid. He scrawled a quick note explaining that he was going to look for Finn, then took off on his skimmer. He was sure he would find him. Sure that he would bring Finn home.

* * *

Finn stared up at the dark ceiling, having trouble sleeping. "There should be something in the Code against snoring," he muttered, glaring at Harrier's sleeping form. He got up and walked over to the balcony. He stared up at the night sky and the crescent moon. The sky was completely clear, except for one dark shadow that was moving quickly. As it neared the terra's landing strip, Finn's sharp vision recognized the shape.

"Junko..."


	8. Friends

**Chapter 8 Friends  
**

Finn watched as Junko landed his skimmer.

"Finn!" The wallop bellowed. "Finn! Are you here?"

The sharpshooter winced. Even from this far away, he could hear Junko's shouts. He had probably woken up half the terra by now. He turned to go back inside, but was surprised to see a bleary eyed Harrier behind him. Finn squealed in surprise and jumped backwards. "Dude! You gotta warn a person before just standing their like that!"

"Is it too much to ask for a little peace and quiet around here? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Harrier crossed his arms in irritation. "Now I suggest you go to your friend and quiet him before someone else does!"

"But I don't want to," Finn whined. "He'll make me go back."

"Either you go down there, or I do. Your choice."

He glanced at a clock. "Man, you sure are grumpy at one in the morning."

"Just go!" Harrier pointed towards the door.

Finn was about to argue, but seeing the look of irritation on his face, he thought better of it and left the room. He made his way towards the sound of Junko's loud voice.

* * *

Junko looked through some bushes and bellowed out his friend's name again. "Finn! FINN!"

He turned as he heard some bushes rustling. "Finn?"

"You've woken up about half the terra by now, Junko." The blond came into view. "What are you doing here?"

The Wallop stared at his friend for a minute then rushed towards him giving him a great big crushing hug. "Finn! We thought you were dead!"

"Can't... breathe..."

"Oh, sorry..." Junko loosened his embrace of his friend, but still hung on as if letting go would cause him to vanish.

Finn gasped for breath for a few moments before looking up at his friend. "Why did you think I was dead? I left a note... I resigned from the Storm Hawks... What are you doing here?"

"We found your note, but... We tried to contact you, but that didn't work. Then Stork tried tracking you and he said your skimmer was destroyed... Then we found your parachute... And... And... I'm here to bring you home."

Finn pushed Junko away. "No."

The Wallop blinked. "What?"

"I said no. I'm not going back. I said I resigned and I meant it."

"But... But..." Junko stared at him, at a loss for words. "We don't think you're a screw-up!"

"I am! Name three missions where I didn't screw something up."

The wallop tipped his head to the side. "Er... What about when we were chased by Murk Raiders?"

"Managed to knock myself out for the whole battle."

"How about that time you guys had to get some frozen yogurt to save me?"

"Threw out the refrigerator..."

"Don't put me on the spot like this Finn... You know I'm bad with thinking." Junko scratched his head. "We don't care about your mistakes. Everyone was pretty upset that you left. Even Stork."

Finn looked away from him. "You guys might not think I'm a screw-up, but I do. I'm not going back until I find out if I'm not."

His friend stared at him sadly. "What are you going to do?"

"Er... I haven't figured that part out yet... I figure it should be something... Heroic."

"Heroic?" Junko echoed.

"Hmm... I've got it! I'll take down the Dark Ace once and for all!"

"Finn!" He exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "You.. You can't do that! You'll get hurt! The Dark Ace is... umm... The Dark Ace!"

Finn started laughing. "You so should have seen the look on your face dude! It was priceless."

Junko blinked. "That's not funny, Finn."

"Sure it is. Did you honestly believe I would do something as stupid as to go after the Dark Ace?" He stretched his arms and yawned. "Look, it's like almost two am. Why don't you go back to the Condor and get some sleep? Tell everyone I'm fine and to stop looking for me."

"No," the Wallop replied. "I'm not leaving without you. Finn... If you try something dangerous... You could get hurt."

"I could get hurt- and do get hurt- just being a Storm Hawk. I... I don't want other people getting hurt because of me... I've almost gotten the two of us killed so many times..." Finn turned away. "Just go get some sleep Junko..."

"Finn... You're my best friend and when... When I thought you were dead, it felt like part of me had died as well. I'm not letting that happen again! I'm not going to let you go off on your own where I won't know if you're alright or not!"

Junko was on the verge of tears, and Finn felt a twinge of guilt. He didn't think that leaving would upset Junko so much... He hadn't thought at all, really. He never did. Mostly he just did the first thing that came to mind. "I'm sorry Junko... I didn't mean to hurt you... You're my best friend..."

"It's alright, Finn. Let's just get back to the Condor."

"I... I can't... I can't face them..." He couldn't meet his friend's gaze. "I meant it when I meant I had to do something..."

"..." Junko tipped his head to the side, thinking, something he didn't do that often; he usually let Finn handle that. "... You don't have to do it alone."

"What, do you want me to let Aerrow handle everything like he usually does?" Finn shook his head. "If I go back, thing's will go back to the ways they were... I'll go back to being a screw-up and a coward." Junko opened his mouth to say something, but he cut him off. "I have to do it on my own."

"No," Junko replied. "You don't... If you don't want Aerrow's help, I'll help you. That's what friends are for."


	9. The Plan

**Chapter 9 The Plan  
**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews guys. They mean a lot to me. And random question... In drabbles, why do they always kill of Finn? :( Poor Finn, always the one being offed. Sometimes it's Aerrow, but you never see them offing Junko, do you?  
**

"Harrier." Finn and Junko were in Harrier's room. It was almost two-thirty in the morning. "Harrier."

Harrier let out an incomprehensible mumble.

"Alright dude," Finn was saying. "Since Junko can't fit on the couch with me, he's going to have to share the bed with you, okay?" The sky knight mumbled again. "Thanks, dude."

Junko climbed into bed next to Harrier, and Finn returned to his couch. It was late, so both fell to sleep almost instantly.

Later that morning, Harrier woke up and opened his eyes slowly. As his eyes focused, he let out an undignified high pitched scream as he found himself face-to-face with a sleeping Wallop. He fell out of the bed and reflexively grabbed for his energy blade.

"Calm down," Finn grunted sleepily. "It's just Junko."

"For pity's sake!" Harrier exclaimed. "What is he doing in my bed!"

"Well, I was sleeping, until you woke me up," Junko replied.

The sky knight just closed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm going to help Finn do something heroic," the Wallop declared.

"Riiight... And that would be?"

"We were hoping you'd have some ideas," Finn said.

Harrier rubbed his eyes and sat on the edge of his bed. "Why don't you just go back to your squadron? The Storm Hawks always end up doing 'something heroic'."

"Aerrow always does that. I usually get in the way..." Finn frowned. "Well, there was that one time that Stork and I saved Terra Vapos... But I almost ended up getting killed. Here's some advice; never insult a Murk Raider's dancing."

The Rex Guardian rolled his eyes. "Right. I'll keep that in mind." His blue eyes fixed onto Finn. "You do realize the danger you'll be in by trying to do something with only two people, right?"

"The Third Degree Burners only have three people in their squadron," Finn replied.

"Three is still more than two," Harrier pointed out. "And one of them is a sky knight."

"A sky knight, eh?" The sharpshooter put an arm around Harrier's shoulders. "Harrier, old buddy. How would you like to-"

"No."

"What? I haven't even finished asking you yet!" Finn exclaimed.

"But you were going to," the sky knight replied. "I'm not going on some crazy hare-brained, and not to mention dangerous, adventure just because you think you mess everything up for the Storm Hawks!"

"Wow, someone's cranky today, dude."

"Well maybe that's because your friend over here woke me up at one a.m., and then I wake up to find him sleeping in my bed!"

"Sorry about that," Junko said, rubbing the back of his head. "So what kind of heroic thing should we do, Finn?"

Finn frowned, thinking. He snapped his fingers. "I've got it! We'll infiltrate Cyclonia and foil one of their plans."

The Wallop burst out laughing. "That's a good one, Finn... Wait... You're serious this time, aren't you?"

The sharpshooter nodded. "Yeah... It won't be that hard. I mean, Starling was able to do it."

He ignored Harrier who muttered. "Well, Starling isn't an idiot."

"Uh... Finn... It would be easy for you to blend in, but... I'm a Wallop." Junko frowned. "I don't think I could blend in..."

"What? Is there some kind of rule that Talons can't be Wallops?"

"Have you ever seen a Talon who was a Wallop?" Harrier interrupted.

"Well... No," replied Finn. "But... There's always a first time. Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Being imprisoned on Cyclonia, torture, execution." Harrier's eyes narrowed. "You're going to get you and your friend killed. Isn't that what you were worried about earlier?"

He sighed. "Well... Yeah... But Junko's the one who wants to come along... I wanted to do this myself."

"I'm not going to let yourself risk your life alone," Junko said. "I'll go to Cyclonia with you... How dangerous can it be?"

"What happens when you run into a squadron who thinks you're Talons?" Harrier pointed out. "You two aren't thinking things through!"

"we never do," Finn replied. "Thinking really isn't our thing..."

"You're going to get yourselves killed," the sky knight hissed. He sighed, thinking. He had a debt of honor to repay to the Storm Hawks from saving his terra and himself. Saving Finn had repaid half of it, but... He sighed in irritation. He had to help these two of all people. "I'll help you in whatever way I can... Even if that means going with you."

Finn grinned. "Awesome. So when do we leave?"

"Not yet. First we have to tell the Storm Hawks what we're up to," Harrier replied.

The sharpshooter's grin faded. "They'll try to stop us, you know."

"They'll be worried about you guys. I'll be guessing that they've noticed that Junko's gone. They deserve to know where you're going."

Junko frowned for a minute, thinking. "I know... Why don't you explain things to them, Harrier?"

Finn nodded. "That's a good idea. You're good with words; you can convince them not to stop us."

Harrier nodded. "Alright. I'll do that." He sighed in relief, glad not to have to go with them. One night of dealing with Finn was more than enough. "Be careful, Finn. You too Junko."

* * *

"They're _what_?" Piper screeched.

Harrier winced. "They're leaving to infiltrate Cyclonia."

"We can't let them do that," Aerrow said. "They'll be killed! We have to stop them."

"I suspect they've already left by now," the Rex Guardian replied.

"Why didn't _you_ stop them?" Piper demanded.

"They're not children," Harrier replied.

"They're Finn and Junko!" Aerrow exclaimed.

"Both of whom are older than you," he pointed out.

"Well they sure don't act like it..."

"Finn needs to do this," Harrier told them. "And Junko wants to help him. If you're really their friends, you won't try to stop them."

"We shouldn't try to stop them from getting killed?" Piper demanded.

"No, you shouldn't try to stop them from finding out who they really are."


	10. Cyclonia

**Chapter 10 Cyclonia**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! :D It's kind of a short chapter today, but I like it.  
**

"How do I look?" Finn emerged from the bathroom, his hair dyed black. He had styled it differently. He didn't particularly want to, but he couldn't risk being recognized on Cyclonia.

Junko blinked. "Why do you look like Dark Ace?"

He shrugged. "He may be evil, but he does have a sense of style. Besides, I don't look _that _much like him..."

The Wallop shrugged and ran a through his new red hair. He had cut it considerably shorter. "You don't think Harrier will mind me borrowing some of his clothes?"

"Nah... He'll understand..."

"These things are a little tight..."

"We'll find you something Wallop sized on Cyclonia," Finn replied, who was now wearing some clothes borrowed from one of the Rex Guardians. They fit pretty well. He looked down at the maroon colored shirt and khakis. "You know, I kind of like the new look. It's fresh. My Storm Hawks uniform was getting boring..."

"How are we going to get to Cyclonia, Finn?" Junko asked.

"We'll fly, duh."

"...Oh..." He blinked. "Won't they recognize our skimmers?"

"If we take off the Storm Hawk insignias, they won't..." Finn nodded. "It won't be that hard... Once we get there we'll enlist in the army."

"Alright," Junko said. "I hope you know what you're doing..."

"When have I ever not?"

His friend decided it was best not to answer.

* * *

"There it is... Cyclonia..." Finn stared up at the red skies wondering why they weren't blue. "It's even creepier than the last time we were here."

Junko gulped. "Yeah... Let's not get sucked into any machines this time..."

"Agreed... But this time we're not going any where near Cyclonis... We should be safe..."

"I hope you're right, Finn. Oh, look... There's the landing strip... Look out! Talon's heading our way!"

"Just act natural," Finn replied. "Let me do the talking."

"State your business!" the lead Talon barked.

"We're, uh, here to join the Talons."

"Aren't you a little young? And what's that, a Wallop? Why would a Wallop want to join the Talons?"

"Because I'm uh... Evil!" Junko said, trying to put on a stern face. "I eat Sky Knights for breakfast!"

The Talon didn't look impressed. "Alright. Just land down there and join the line-ups of new recruits."

"Thanks, dude... I mean sir." Finn flew towards the landing strip and his skimmer converted to cycle-mode, Junko right behind him.

"You two! Move your fannies and get over here!" a familiar voice barked.

Finn and Junko hurriedly parked their skimmers near the others then ran over to stand in line with the other recruits.

"My name is Sergeant Snipe. I'm here to make you into Talons. Now, how many of you have flown skimmers before? Step forward." The large man walked down the line of recruits. Only a handful of people stepped forward, Finn and Junko among them. He stopped in front of Junko. "You. What's your name?"

"My name? It's uh... Junkie." The Wallop swallowed and Finn resisted the urge to face-palm.

"Junkie, eh?" Snipe said. "Sounds familiar... Oh well. From now on, your name is Muscles. You'll be flying in my squadron." He moved down to Finn. "You... What's with your hair?"

Finn blinked. "My hair?"

"From now on, your nickname is Dark Ace Jr." The huge man looked proud of himself for coming up with the nickname."

"Isn't that a bit long to say... sir."

"Fine. You'll just be Junior then." Sniped rolled his eyes. "Now, what can you do?"

"Um... I can fly a skimmer..." Finn blinked again.

"No, not that. What can you do besides that?"

"Oh... I'm a sharpshooter... And I play the guitar."

"So you shoot stuff with a bow and play an instrument... Ravess's squadron might be best for you... Wait..." Snipe's eyes widened with glee. "I think I'll place you in the Dark Ace's squadron. I'm supposed to hand pick them from the best, but... Have fun, Dark Ace Jr." He laughed and walked towards the next person in line.

Finn swallowed and looked towards Junko. They were going to be split up? And worse than that, he was going to be in the Dark Ace's squadron... Fooling Snipe was one thing, but Dark Ace... He wasn't stupid...

Junko looked at him, worriedly. "Be careful," he murmured.

"I will... Don't worry, buddy... I'll be fine." Finn really hoped he wasn't lying.


	11. Dark Ace

**Chapter 11 Dark Ace**

**A/N Hurray! 50 Reviews! I'd like to thank all my reviewers for making this possible. :D**

"So... You're the new member of my squadron..." Dark Ace circled Finn, eying him critically. "Any reason why you copied my hairstyle?"

"Um... I thought you looked rather stylish, sir, so I..." Finn swallowed, not meeting the Dark Ace's eyes. He couldn't risk being recognized. What rotten luck! Why did he have to be put in the Dark Ace's squadron. Why?

Dark Ace narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "That is true, I am rather stylish, but... You're not one of those raving fan boys, are you? I'm so sick of the little creeps trying to get my autograph or steal my shirt... If Master Cyclonis hadn't ordered me not to hurt them..."

"You... You have fan boys?" He asked incredulously. "... Sir."

"Yes, Dark Ace Junior, or whoever you are. I do." He walked away from Finn towards his skimmer, then turned towards him. "And if you're going to try to look like me, at least do the hairstyle justice." He threw something at him.

Finn clumsily caught it and looked at it. It was a metal headband, identical to the one Dark Ace wore. "Ah... Thanks, sir." He put it on.

"That's better," Dark Ace said. "It'll keep your hair out of your eyes while you're flying. Besides, the look wouldn't be complete without it." He tipped his head to the side and suddenly burst out laughing.

"What is it... sir?" He asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking of the look Aerrow would have on his face if he saw a whole squadron of Dark Ace look-a-likes." Dark Ace smiled. "It's an interesting prospect... Perhaps I'll ask Master Cyclonis to make it possible..." His face became serious again and he took a step towards Finn. "Oh, and just in case you are a rabid fan boy, I don't care what the master says. You touch my clothes, you die. You got that, Junior?"

"Yes sir..."

Dark Ace tipped his head to the side again and stared at him. "Your voice... It sounds familiar... You sound like one of the Storm Hawks."

Finn laughed. "That's a good one, sir. Storm Hawk... Like a Storm Hawk would try to sneak down into Cyclonia looking like you."

He didn't laugh. "I guess that does sound rather ridiculous, Finn."

"Why did you just call me Finn, sir?" He asked, his gut turning to ice.

"Oh, did I?" Dark Ace asked. "Sorry about that, Junior..." His eyes glittered. "I guess you just remind me of someone I know... Snipe said you were a sharpshooter, right?"

"Y-yes sir," Finn replied, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Let's see what you've got..." Dark Ace lead Finn to a target range. Ravess was there, practicing her shooting.

"Hello, Dark Ace, and... Dark Ace?" Ravess blinked and shook her head before looking at the pair.

"Ravess, this is the newest member of my squadron. We call him Junior." Dark Ace smiled.

"Junior... That wouldn't happen to be short for Dark Ace Junior, would it?" Ravess laughed. "He looks like he could be your son!"

"Your brother thought up his delightful nickname," Dark Ace replied. "He thought it would be funny to put him in my squadron."

"That's because it is funny!" She snickered.

He shrugged. "I guess if he doesn't work out, I can always throw him to the Storm Hawks as a distraction..."

Finn gulped. "Er... Could you not do that, sir?"

"We'll see," Dark Ace replied. "We'll see. Now, show me your shooting."

* * *

Finn dumped himself at a table in the cafeteria. He was totally exhausted. After showing Dark Ace his sharpshooting he and the rest of the squadron went on what seemed like a ten mile run carrying about fifty pounds of gear. "Ow... My legs... My back..."

"Hey F- um... Junior." Junko sat down next to him holding a plate of sandwiches. "Want one?"

"No thanks, Muscles..." Finn sighed. "I'm too tired to eat. I guess you've probably had to work as much as I did..."

"Well... Let's see what I did today..." The Wallop took a bite of a sandwich. "Well, we lifted some weights, but they really didn't have any heavy enough for me. Then we went on a run, but after about half a mile, Sergeant Snipe got bored. So he decided to eat sandwiches instead..."

"What! That's so not fair!" He whined. "I had to run like ten miles and I had to spend time with Dark Ace while he assessed my skills. He says I'm satisfactory. I am not! I am so more than satisfactory!" He lowered his voice. "And... I think he's suspicious of me..."

"Suspicious? He knows who you are?" Junko whispered.

"Yes... Either that or he thinks I'm a Dark Ace Fan Boy."

"I hope it's that... Wait... He has fan boys?"


	12. The Squadron

**Chapter 12 The Squadron  
**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews!**

Finn collapsed onto his cot in the barracks. They had run endless flying drill and had ran another ten miles before ending the day. "I have to admit... My flying is getting better..." _Maybe Starling had a point when she gave us that lecture about doing drills instead of playing games..._

"Hey kid." Finn looked over to see a mustachioed Talon looking over at him. "Are you... Are you the Commander's son or something?"

"No..." Finn replied. He recognized the man as another member of the squadron.

"Huh... Little brother?"

"No."

"Cousin?"

"No! I'm not related to Dark Ace!"

The Talon shrugged. "Alright then..." He glanced around for a moment as if checking for eavesdroppers. "So you wouldn't mind helping us with a little prank then..."

Finn sat up and looked over at him. "You've got my attention..."

* * *

Finn gulped nervously. How did he get roped into this. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on Snipe's door before speeding away down the hallway.

The door opened. "Huh? Dark Ace?" Snipe watched Finn run away and took a step forward. He triggered a bucket of glue to fall on his head, followed by chicken feathers. "DARK ACE! I'm going to kill you!"

Finn kept running until he reached the group of laughing Talons.

"Great job, kid," the one with the mustache said, giving him a high five.

"Won't Snipe figure out that it was me?" he asked.

"No. It's Snipe. Dark Ace will probably figure it out though."

"Great," Finn replied. "He'll probably end up throwing me to the Storm Hawks as bait."

"Things'll be fine, Junior. Trust us." They walked back to the barracks, Finn following them.

"Hey, I have a question," he asked,

"What is it?" Mustache replied.

"Why isn't anyone called by their real names here?"

Mustache glanced back at him. "Because nicknames are more fun."

* * *

The Squadron stood to attention as Dark Ace walked into the barracks. "So, you think it's funny to stick chicken feathers onto Sergeant Snipe. And then frame it on me."

Everyone was silent as Dark Ace stopped in front of Finn. His eyes narrowed. "I'm here to tell you that if you ever do it again, there will be dire consequences. Next time you get shot down in the Waste Lands, we'll see if you get picked up." He turned away from them. "Next time, pin it on Ravess."

Finn blinked, surprised at the sound of humor in the Dark Ace's voice. He had never picture the Dark Ace as someone who had a sense of humor. He guessed maybe the Cyclonian had a soft spot for his squadron.

He turned towards them again. "You're lucky Master Cyclonis found your little stunt amusing. As it is, I have to schedule extra flying drills as punishment. The first one starts right now in fact."

"What? It's the middle of the night!" Finn exclaimed glancing at the clock which read eleven fifteen.

"Why, yes it is! Look at that, people. Junior here can read a clock." Dark Ace's eyes narrowed. "You're going to have to get used to nighttime flying. Our next mission is going to be at night."

"What's our next mission?" Mustache asked.

"We're going to take down Terra Rex once and for all," Dark Ace replied. "It has managed to escape conquest twice. And that fool Harrier may have survived our first duel, but this time, it all ends! The Rex Guardians will die and their terra will belong to Cyclonia!"

The squadron let out a cheer, and Finn joined them, trying to hide his nervousness.

Dark Ace smiled. "Now let's get flying. I want you all in tiptop condition for the invasion. I will NOT accept another failure. Especially if those punk Storm Hawks show up."

Finn got onto his talon switchblade and got into formation with the squadron. He had his crossbow with him since the switchblade didn't have one built into it. It was dark, and he could barely see ten feet in front of him. His eyes were slowly adjusting. "Couldn't we turn the headlights on?" he grumbled.

Dark Ace looked back at him. "That would completely ruin the stealth element, Junior. They'd see us coming from miles away. Now... Up there in the sky there's a number of obstacles. We're going to fly through them in formation without hitting any of them, got it?"

"Formation?" Finn repeated. "Wouldn't it be easier to go single file or something?" His sharp eyes stared at the sky and he could see the obstacles floating in the air. They were all over the place and it would take some pretty precision flying for the squadron to fit through them in their V-formation.

"You won't get better if you always take the easy way out, Junior. We'll have to get better if we're ever going to take down the Storm Hawks. I hope you're as good as you say you are kid. I'll be trusting you to take out that Sharpshooter Finn kid in the Storm Hawks... If he's still with them, that is. Now let's fly." Roaring forward, Dark Ace transformed his skimmer and took off in under five seconds. Everyone else was quick to follow. They were flying pretty fast- faster than Finn had ever flown in combat. It was hard for him to focus on the oncoming obstacles. He jerked to the side to avoid hitting a chunk of metal.

"Watch it, Junior!" Mustache warned. "Stop focusing on the obstacles! Just stay in formation. Dark Ace knows what he's doing."

Finn gulped. "Yeah... Alright..." What was he doing, trusting Dark Ace? He focused on staying in the formation as they dodged more and more obstacles. Things were getting more narrow, that's for sure. His muscles tensed; he had never flown through this many obstacles before. He had never needed to be so precise with his flying. He half turned to see a red bolt flying his way. His heart nearly stopped. This was it, they knew who he was! They had lead him out there to ambush him!

"Junior, duck!"

Finn ducked, and the red bolt flew right over his head.

"This is where it gets interesting," Dark Ace told them. "Dodge the bolts, but stay in formation!"

If Finn thought his muscles were tense before, then he didn't know what to call them now. He had to dodge bolts, dodge obstacles and stay in formation? He flinched as a bolt flew inches in front of his face. He saw another one coming straight at him and he tipped his skimmer to the side, causing it to pass right through where his wing once was.

Dark Ace suddenly dove straight down and Finn gulped as he did the same. Was this man insane? He was going to plow them into something! Flying up again, he looped around a large chunk of debris. The rest of the squadron managed to stay in formation, but Finn had strayed a little bit. A laser bolt skimmed off his wing, leaving a little black burn mark. The bolts suddenly ceased, and the obstacles were gone, and Finn breathed in the cool night air in relief as he realized it was over. Somehow, he had managed to survive.

"That was good for a warm up," Dark Ace said. "Now let's get into some real flying..."


	13. A Plan

**Chapter 13 A Plan  
**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! Here's a random fact thanks to the new Reader Traffic... I have a total of one reader from Poland. The majority of you guys are Canadian. Haven't you always wanted to know that?**

Finn collapsed onto his bed and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. They had ran flying drills for hours, each more difficult than the last. He was lucky that he didn't smash into anything. Lucky, or maybe he actually improved his flying. Hoping it was the latter, he rolled over and closed his eyes.

"So how was your first set of drills, Junior?" Mustache asked.

Finn opened his eyes. "Man... That was rough... If you guys train so hard, why do you always..." he trailed off, deciding not to finish his sentence.

"Why do we always lose to the Storm Hawks?" he guessed. "Well, actually. We never used to train this hard, but lately Dark Ace has been getting fed up with losing. he says if we lose again, he'll drop us off in the middle of the wastelands."

Finn gulped. "Sounds like a nice guy..."

"He can be... When he's not angry at that Aerrow punk. Well, you better get some sleep. We'll be up again at seven for breakfast."

"G'night," he yawned, shutting his eyes.

"Alright you lazy slugs! Get up!"

Finn opened his eyes again. Why was someone yelling at him? Hadn't he just fallen to sleep? He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was exactly seven. Great, he didn't even get four hours of sleep. Groaning slightly, he stumbled out of bed.

"Get dressed and get some breakfast," Dark Ace was instructing. "At eight we'll be flying some more drills then we'll go on a nice fifteen mile run..."

Finn winced; his muscles were still sore from the last run they had went on. Sighing, he put on his Cyclonian uniform and headpiece. Dark Ace was right; it did keep the hair out of his eyes.

After stumbling over to the mess hall and standing in line, Finn got some fried eggs and toast. He hesitated for a moment before getting coffee. Aerrow had forbidden him from drinking coffee since "the incident", but he figured that after less than four hours of sleep, he needed some. It didn't take him long to spot Junko sitting alone at a table. The Wallop had a huge pile of bacon and eggs in front of him which he was happily chowing away on.

"Hey dude," Finn greeted, sitting down next to his friend. "I'm so tired... We stayed up until three doing some intense flying drills."

"Oh. My squadron stayed up until eleven playing poker," Junko replied. "I've won a bunch of crystals, and some guy's left shoe."

"What kind of crystals?" he asked. "Anything that Piper would want?"

"Well... I've got some firebolts, paralyzers, frost crystals... A few nitros -Aerrow would like those- and three of these weird little purple ones."

"Purple ones?" Finn questioned. "Let me see one."

Junko reached into his pocket and fished out a small purple stone. "Here it is. It looks kind of familiar..."

"Dude!" Finn exclaimed loudly, causing several people to glance in his direction. "I know what that is. Remember that time that weird dude came to train us?"

"Yeah..."

"Well that's the stone that made the Cyclonians so powerful! It's called... Um... Let me think... Oh yeah! An enhancer stone! You could totally power your knuckle busters with though and before a hundred times stronger than anyone!"

"I can't do that, F- Junior," Junko replied. "I wouldn't be able to control that much power. Remember when you tried on my busters? It would be like that..."

"Oh," Finn replied. He took the crystal in his hand. "This stone... It looks small enough to fit in one of my bolts... When Ravess used these, she couldn't miss a shot..." He smiled and lowered his voice. "Dude, you have to give me those! I can use them to totally thwart the invasion!"

"What invasion?"

"The invasion of Terra Rex."

"Terra Rex?" Junko questioned. "Isn't that where Harrier is?"

"Yeah, it is," Finn replied. "I can't let his terra be taken over after he saved me. It just wouldn't be right..."

"Alright," Junko replied. He fished out the last two enhancer stones and handed them over. "Need any others?"

The sharpshooter shook his head. "Nah... You should save the rest for Piper for when we go home."

The Wallop smiled. "So you are planning on going home?"

"If we stop the invasion, I think that's all the proof I need that I'm not a screw up... How many people can claim that they single handedly stopped an invasion of Cyclonians?"

"Are the Rex Guardians going to be there?"

Finn frowned. "They don't count."

"Why not?"

"They just don't."

"Hey! All members of my squadron follow me!" Snipe's voice boomed.

Finn glanced at the clock. It was seven thirty. "Man, your squadron's got it rough. I have another half hour before my drills start."

Junko looked at him. "Drills? We're having a poker rematch!"

"Dude... So not fair." After Junko left, Finn gulped down the rest of his coffee and headed back to his squadron's barracks; he still had some time before the drilling. Going to the chest he had been assigned to hold his possessions, Finn pulled out three of his crossbow bolts that didn't have crystals in them. He snapped an enhancer stone in each one and smiled as they glowed briefly. Now he had three super powerful projectiles for his crossbow. One for Snipe, one for Ravess, and one to take down the Dark Ace.


	14. Caught

**Chapter 14 Caught**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews!**

Finn had just finished sliding the enhancer stones into his cross bow bolts when he heard someone behind him. He half turned before he was suddenly slammed against the wall.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" Dark Ace hissed, his energy blade at Finn's throat.

His blue eyes widened in fear. "Because... Uh... It's not nice to kill your squadron... sir."

"There are no Storm Hawks in my squadron, Finn." He moved the blade closer to his throat. "Maybe if you didn't want to get caught, you and your friend shouldn't have started up a conversation about the Storm Hawks in the cafeteria!"

Finn stared at him, wondering if he could still play the innocent card. Since the energy blade was only a centimeter away from his neck, he guessed not. "You... You were a Storm Hawk once..."

The arm Dark Ace was pinning him to the wall with crushed into his chest harder. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You... You became a Talon. Why can't I?" Finn replied.

The Talon commander's eyes narrowed. "Am I supposed to believe that you and that Wallop want to betray the Storm Hawks?"

"Yes," he replied. "I... I do. I... I hate them!"

Dark Ace rolled his eyes. "You're a terrible liar, kid."

"I'm not lying!" Finn lied. "I really do hate them. I mean, Aerrow's all like: 'Wheeee! I'm perfect! No one's better than me!' Then Piper's all like: 'Finn! Stop playing that guitar! You're absolutely terrible!' I mean it's sooo annoying. I just want to play the Rock Machine and she yells at me! And so what if I blew up her crystal lab that one time? I told her it was an accident!" He stopped talking as he realized the blade was only a millimeter from his throat.

"I'm not a moron," he replied. "You couldn't betray the Storm Hawks... You're not like me. Now, give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!"

Finn just stared at the Dark Ace, terrified. This wasn't going so well. Not at all. He was just supposed to save the day; to be the hero for once instead of the one who got shot down.

Dark Ace tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. He let Finn fall to the ground. "You would be great bait to get Aerrow to come here," he mused. "Yes... That's a good plan. I hold you and the Wallop hostage and Aerrow comes dashing in to rescue you... That's when I kill him."

Finn gulped nervously. No... That couldn't happen... He couldn't let Aerrow get killed because of him! He never should have left the Condor! This was all his fault! He spotted something out of the corner of his eyes. He inched towards it, keeping one eye on Dark Ace.

"How does it feel, Junior... Knowing that you're the reason your friend will die?" Dark Ace looked down at Finn, then his eyes widened. "No!" He dove for Finn, his blade extended.

Finn dove for the crossbow and rolled over onto his back and fired off a shot. Was he too late? Would the Dark Aces blade plunge into him any second? He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for him to die. A few moments later, he opened them again. The red glowing blade was at his throat, but the man holding it was frozen solid.

"I... I just froze the Dark Ace!" he exclaimed. He saw the firebolt crystal in the Dark Ace's sword was giving off heat, so he took it. "That'll buy me some time... I need to get out of here!"

Grabbing his crossbow and the bag of bolts that went with it, Finn sprinted out of the room. "I need to find Junko before the Dark Ace unfreezes!" Sticking his head into room after room, it took him five minutes to locate Junko.

"Five aces!" Snipe exclaimed. "I win again, Muscles!"

Junko blinked. "I don't think you can get five aces, sir..."

"You callin' me a liar?"

"No..." The Wallop glanced back and noticed Finn. "Ah... I'm out of money... I'll have to go get some more..." He backed out of the room and turned to face Finn. "What's wrong?"

"Dude, Dark Ace knows who we are. He attacked me and said he was going to use us as bait for Aerrow. I managed to freeze him, but who knows how long that'll last? We have to go, now!" Finn's voice was filled with panic.

"Alright... Let's go," Junko agreed. He and Finn began to sprint to the hangar bay.

* * *

Dark Ace let out an angry cry as he unfroze. How could that punk Storm Hawk freeze him? Aerrow was a worthy opponent, but Finn? Shaking with rage he tried to blast something with his energy blade to blow off some steam, but the firebolt crystal he usually used was gone.

"That's it. Next time I see him, he's dead!" he shouted. "No more fooling around!" His eyes narrowed as he tried to think of where he might have gone... Terra Rex. Finn would go there to warn them of the invasion. Well, he was going to be surprised. Instead of the invasion happening in a week, it would happen today!


	15. Escape

**Chapter 15 Escape**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews!**

Junko and Finn frantically searched for their skimmers in the large hangar bay.

"Where are they?" Finn exclaimed scanning the bay for their sky rides.

"I don't know, but we don't have time! Finn, just grab one and go!" Junko said, getting onto a Switchblade.

"Fine!" he exclaimed, jumping on one. "Now let's get out of here!" He roared out of the hangar bay on the Talon Switchblade with Junko right behind him.

"Piper's gonna kill me," Finn complained. "Now we'll have to buy me a new skimmer." He glanced behind him to see if they were being followed. He relaxed slightly when he saw the skies were clear.

"You can just use that one," Junko pointed out.

"Yeah, but this one doesn't have a crossbow built in to it..."

The Wallop sighed. "Yeah... I guess we'll need to get you a new one then... Piper is going to be pretty mad, considering-"

"Considering how much I already cost you in repairs," Finn finished.

"No, I was going to say considering that you ran away..."

"Oh... Was she upset?" he asked, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"Yeah," Junko replied. "I've never seen Piper so upset before... Or Aerrow, for that matter. Even Stork was upset." He saw the guilty look on his friend's face. "But I'm sure they'll just be glad that you're back!"

"I can't go back yet," Finn replied. "I have to warn Harrier about the invasion that's coming in a week. It's supposed to be a night attack..."

"Oh yeah, Snipe mentioned that..." Junko replied. "He said that he and Ravess were going to be there too, with their squadrons."

"That's a lot of Talons..." He swallowed. "The Rex Guardians are going to need some help..."

The Wallop glanced behind him at the shrinking terra of Cyclonia. "They're going to need it soon. Look!" He pointed back to where the Cyclonians were beginning to mobilize.

"Aww, man! We need to hurry!"

* * *

Harrier was lounging around in his room, eating a sandwich and reading a book entitled: _The Way of the Code, by Lysander, _when a squire rushed in. "Harrier! Two Talon Switchblades were spotted approaching the terra! We are unsure if any are following them, but one of them looks to be Dark Ace."

Harrier jumped to his feet and threw down his sandwich. "I'll attend to it at once! Assemble the Guardians!" He glanced at the floor where his lunch had splattered. "And could you clean that up?"

A few minutes later he and the rest of the Rex Guardians were on their bi-winged skimmers. Their propellers cut through the air as they sped towards the two intruders. Even from a distance, Harrier could recognize the hairstyle of the Dark Ace.

"Enemies of Terra Rex!" Harrier called, igniting his energy blade. "Prepare to be vanquished." He raised the golden blade into the air. "Rex Guardians! Fight with honor!" He thrust his blade forward as if that would speed their charge. He lifted his blade to lop of one of the wings of the Dark Ace's skimmer.

"Harrier! It's me!"

Harrier halted, mid-swing. He would recognize that annoying voice anywhere. "Finn?" He looked towards his squadron. "Rex Guardians, halt!" He pulled up beside Finn and glared at him. "What the heck are you doing coming to Terra Rex dressed like the Dark Ace? You even have the headband! Are you trying to get you and your friend killed?"

Finn glanced around at the rest of the Rex Guardians who looked equally as annoyed as Harrier. "We just came from Cyclonia, remember? We were undercover. We were discovered and didn't have time to change."

"What did you come back here for?" Harrier asked. He winced. "You don't want more advice, do you?"

"No, we came here to warn you," Junko said. "The Cyclonians are planning an invasion- a bigger one than before."

"When?" he asked a tint of worry in his voice.

"A week from now," Finn said. "At least... That's what we thought, but..."

"But what?" the sky knight demanded.

"But as we were leaving, we saw them start mobilizing... They could be here any minute..."

Harrier's eyes widened. "You mean like now? Duck!" He shoved Finn down just in time before a laser bolt shot right through him.

Finn's eyes widened as he turned to see a large Cyclonian airship. Dark Ace and his squadron roared from the hangar bay, shortly followed by Ravess and Snipe's squadrons.

"It's smashing time!" Snipe exclaimed, bouncing his mace in his hand.

Ravess laughed as she notched an arrow on her bow. "I told you I'd be back, ponytail!"

"You better watch out, Junior," Dark Ace hissed, flying towards him. "No one freezes me and lives to tell the tale!"

Finn let out a squeak and pulled to the side just in time to avoid the Dark Ace flying into him. "Harrier? A little help?"

"I'm a little busy right now," Harrier grunted, dodging a laser bolt from one of the Talons. He managed to cleave the wing off of the Talon's skimmer, sending the craft spiraling out of control. Another Talon pulled up next to him, wielding a staff.

"Junko?"

The Wallop looked towards Finn, desperate to help, but busy fending off Snipe, his knuckle busters glowing. The rest of the Rex Guardians were similarly engaged as well.

"No one to help you, Junior," Dark Ace hissed, coming back towards him, his blood red blade poised to run Finn through.

Finn rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding him. "Um... I'm sorry about freezing you... can't we um... Talk this out?"

"Not a chance," he hissed. "You die now."

"No thanks!" Finn exclaimed, diving down and speeding towards the cloud of Talons. He figured he would be safer in the confusion.

A familiar sounding horn blared and Finn smiled as he saw the Condor joining the fight. "Alright, Storm Hawks!" He watched as Piper and Aerrow roared from the deck and accelerated towards the fight. He took a moment to scan the battlefield. The Cyclonians weren't attacking him- they must not have noticed who was actually riding the switchblade. Two of the Rex Guardians had been knocked off their skimmers and were floating down safely. Ravess had notched an arrow and was aiming at the two parachutes.

Eyes narrowing in concentration, Finn loaded one of the enhanced bolts into his crossbow and shot it at Ravess. She saw it coming and dodged to the left, but the bolt followed her and hit her, causing her to fall from her skimmer.

Two enhanced bolts left... Finn looked around for Dark Ace, but couldn't find him amid all the confusion. His heart skipped a beat as someone landed on his skimmer. He looked up fearfully.

"Alright, Dark Ace! Now you... Finn?" Aerrow stared at his friend, confused. "Why do you-"

"No time to explain, dude!" Finn exclaimed. "We need some serious help, here!" He gestured around the battle field. Currently they were outnumbered more than two to one.

Aerrow nodded and jumped back on to his own skimmer before jetting off towards two Talons.

Finn loaded another bolt into his bow and was aiming for Snipe when a voice sent chills down his spine.

"So there you are, Junior."


	16. The End

**Chapter 16 The End**

**A/N Well, all good stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. My story must end as well. I'd like to thank all my reviewers, readers, and people who put my story in their favs and alerts. **

Finn's eyes widened as he desperately tried to avoid the Dark Ace. Ducking, he narrowly avoided a laser bolt aimed for his head. Dodging left and right he dashed around the cloud of fighters, the Dark Ace staying glued to his tail.

"You can't run forever!" Dark Ace yelled.

"I can try!" Finn shouted back. His eyes darted around for something or someone who could help him. He flew by Harrier. "Dude, you gotta help me!"

"Still busy," he shouted back, sending another Cyclonian to the wastelands.

"Come on, dude! You're a sky knight! Use your fancy move on him or something!" He managed to duck another one of the Dark Ace's blasts.

"Pfft. You're asking Harrier for help?" Dark Ace laughed. "I can beat the fool in ten seconds flat."

Harrier's blue eyes narrowed. "You're the fool, Dark Ace!" He began to glow with a yellow aura.

"You're in for it now, dude!" Finn exclaimed. "Special move, here we come!"

The sky knight lifted his sword in the air and sliced it down diagonally, sending a yellow disk spiraling towards the Dark Ace.

Dark Ace rolled his eyes and dove his skimmer down, dodging the energy easily. He shot a blast at Harrier's skimmer before the sky knight landed, blowing it to pieces. Harrier let out a startled scream as he fell towards the Wastelands, his parachute activating.

"Hmm... Eight seconds. It's a new record," Dark Ace commented. He turned to look at Finn, only to see the Storm Hawk was gone. "Blast it!" His gaze found Aerrow, and he smiled. "Perhaps that wasn't so bad after all..."

Finn was flying full speed towards the Condor. "I'll just let Aerrow handle things like he always does... I'm not letting myself get killed!" He paused to look back on the battle and felt a pang of guilt. With the loss of Harrier, the Rex Guardians were completely out of the picture, leaving just Aerrow, Junko, and Piper to face seven Cyclonians, counting Snipe and Dark Ace. His eyes suddenly narrowed in determination. "No... I'm not going to be afraid anymore! This is it... This is when I prove to myself that I'm not a coward! Maybe... Maybe I do screw up a lot, but... But that doesn't mean that I let my friends down!"

Zooming back towards the battle, he lifted his crossbow and took a shot, knocking one Talon off his skimmer. Loading a frost bolt, he froze another. His eyes scanned the sky and he smiled as he saw the battle turning their way. Junko had just thrown Snipe off his skimmer, and Piper had taken out another Cyclonian. There were two normal Talons and the Dark Ace left now. Dark Ace... where had he gone? And where was Aerrow.

Finn's attention was drawn to a distance away, where Aerrow and Dark Ace were pitched in combat. "Good, Aerrow will take care of the Dark Ace like he normally does and things will go back to normal." Seeing the Junko and Piper were going after the remaining Talons, Finn decided to draw closer to two fighters.

"Your friend is lucky that you're a more worthy opponent, Aerrow," Dark Ace said, slashing at him.

"You leave Finn alone!" Aerrow hissed, blocking the blow. He brought his other sword around to slash at the man's arm, but he ripped his sword back to dodge.

Dark Ace's eyes narrowed as he slammed is blade into Aerrow's, knocking it out of the sky knight's grasp. It tumbled down toward the wastelands. He grinned. "Looks like you're losing, Aerrow. You know, I've been training since I last saw you." He brought his blade back and feinted to the right before slamming the hilt of his sword into Aerrow's wrist, sending the other blade spiraling towards the Wastelands. "Looks like I've improved." He lifted his blood red blade high into the air. "Goodbye, Aerrow!"

"No!" Finn screamed. Without thinking, he slipped the second enhanced bolts into his crossbow. Taking a fraction of a second to aim, he pulled the trigger, sending the bolt flying as the blade plunged down towards a wide-eyed Aerrow. The bolt slammed into the sword, sending it off course. Dark Ace cursed as his weapon buried itself into Aerrow's skimmer.

Ripping the blade free from the skimmer, Dark Ace dove towards Aerrow, blade extended. Smirking, Aerrow jumped up just in time for the man to go sailing past him. "Goodbye, Dark Ace," he taunted, shoving the man off his skimmer sending Dark Ace and his sword flying into two different directions.

Dark Ace roared in anger as his wings deployed and he flew off back toward Cyclonia. "This isn't over, Aerrow!" He glared at Finn. "And I won't forget you, Junior. You'd better watch out!"

Finn flew over to Aerrow. "You okay, dude?"

Aerrow smiled at his friend. "For now... Piper's gonna kill me. Those blades cost a fortune..."

"Betcha she'll kill me first," he replied. "I lost my whole skimmer. Junko's too."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. Come on, let's go." Aerrow began heading towards the Condor before turning to face him. "And Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome back."

"Thanks, dude." The two friends flew in silence to the Condor. They landed to find the rest of the Storm Hawks waiting for him.

Piper had her arms crossed. "What you did was the stupidest, most dangerous, irresponsible thing in the world! You're lucky you didn't get killed!" She threw her arms around him. "Oh, I missed you so much! Don't you ever run away like that again, okay?"

"I won't," Finn promised, giving Piper a hug.

"Um..." Stork managed a smile. "I'm glad your alright... But you know that now I'm going to have to quarantine you and Junko to check for any diseases you picked up, right?"

Finn winced. "Yeah... I know..."

"But first, I think a little vacation is in order!" Aerrow exclaimed. "Tropica, here we come!"

"Alright!" Finn exclaimed. He suddenly remembered something. "Shouldn't we be getting Harrier and the Rex Guardians out of the Wastelands?"

"Right... We should do that..."

* * *

"Well it took you long enough," Harrier complained once he was safely aboard the Condor. "I've gotten soot all over my shiny dueling armor..."

"You could say thank you," Finn suggested.

"Well yes," the sky knight replied. "I thank you, Storm Hawks." He extended a hand to Aerrow, who shook it. "So Finn, you're going to be staying with the Storm Hawks once again?"

"Yeah... Unless you'd rather me stay with you some more," he replied, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Uh, no, that's quite alright," Harrier replied quickly. He bowed to them all. "Now, if you don't mind, we really should be going..." The Condor had landed on Terra Rex in the landing strip with the screaming fans.

"Wait," Aerrow said. "Why don't you come to Tropica with us? It would be fun!"

"Uh, no thanks. You see there's a section in the code that clearly states-"

"But Harrier, I thought the reason we never went to Tropica was because you can't swim?" one of the Guardians commented.

Harrier blushed. "Uh... No... Of course I can swim! I... Uh... Rex Guardians! Away!" And with that, he sprinted off the Condor, his laughing squadron following him.

"That reminds me... Piper, I got this for you..." Finn pulled out the last enhanced bolt.

"Is that an enchancer stone?" Piper squealed. "Thank you, Finn!" She gave him a hug. "I've got to start analyzing this right away!"

"Oh no you don't!" Finn exclaimed, grabbing her arm before she could run to her lab. "We've got more important things to do right now... Tropica, here we come! And after that, I think we should head to Terra Neon! You know, and then just for fun we should head for the Terra of Giant Bananas!"

Aerrow smiled as Finn prattled off more vacation spots and Stork left to go plot their course. Things were finally back to normal... Or as normal as things could be with Finn around.

**Finn.**

**A/N... Bad pun for the win! I'd like to thank Everyone once again. Hurray!**


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